Trump tells Walmart to ’eat the tariffs’ instead of raising prices

By Jasper Ward

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Walmart (N:WMT) should "eat the tariffs" instead of blaming duties imposed by his administration on imported goods for the retailer’s increased prices.

His comments were in response to the world’s largest retailer saying this week it would have to start raising prices later this month due to high tariffs.

"Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain. Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected," Trump said in a social media post.

"Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, ’EAT THE TARIFFS,’ and not charge valued customers ANYTHING."

Walmart said it has always worked to keep its prices as low as possible, adding that this practice will not stop.

"We’ll keep prices as low as we can for as long as we can given the reality of small retail margins," the company said in a statement to Reuters.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said on Thursday the retailer could not absorb all the tariff costs because of narrow retail margins. Even so, he said, the company was committed to ensuring that tariff-related costs on general merchandise, which primarily comes from China, would not drive food prices higher.

Many U.S. companies have either slashed or pulled their full-year expectations amid friction between the U.S. and its trading partners, particularly China, as consumers curtail spending. 

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As a bellwether of U.S. consumer health, Walmart’s explicit statement about the impact of tariffs is a signpost for how the trade war is affecting the retail sector. Walmart is noted for its ability to manage costs more aggressively than other companies to keep prices low.

Every week, 255 million people shop in its stores or place orders online around the world, and 90% of the U.S. population lives within 10 miles (16 km) of a Walmart.

Walmart’s disclosure comes about three weeks after a published report that Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) planned to disclose how much Trump-imposed tariffs were adding to the costs of its products. The White House blasted Amazon over the report, which the company promptly denied. 

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